Turbomachine enclosure canopy system

ABSTRACT

A portable retractable turbomachine enclosure canopy system includes a first rail member configured and disposed to be mounted to a first wall of the turbomachine enclosure, and a second rail member configured and disposed to be mounted to a second wall of the turbomachine enclosure. A first fixed canopy support member is mounted to the first rail member, and a second fixed canopy support member is mounted to the second rail member. A first sliding canopy support member is seated on the first rail member, and a second sliding canopy support member is seated on the second rail member. An adjustable canopy support element is moveably secured between the first and second fixed canopy support members to form a fixed canopy support, and an adjustable canopy support member is moveably secured between the first and second sliding canopy support members to form a sliding canopy support.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Turkish Application No. 2011/07016filed Jul. 15, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbomachine enclosuresand, more particularly, to a turbomachine enclosure canopy system.

Turbomachines are employed to power a wide range of machines. In manycases, turbomachines are employed to power generators that provideelectrical power to a facility. Generally, the turbomachine andgenerator are arranged outside the facility in a separate enclosure. Theenclosure is provided with an upper opening having a removable roof thatfacilitates repair and removal of the turbomachine.

When repair is necessary, the turbomachine is taken offline,disassembled, the removable roof is removed, and portions of theturbomachine are removed through the upper opening. In certain climates,it is not practical to leave the upper opening exposed to theenvironment. Rain, snow and other conditions may damage remainingportions of the turbomachine or lead to uncomfortable workingconditions. Currently, once the portions of the turbomachine areremoved, the roof is replaced or the upper opening is covered by a tarp.However, often times it is necessary to remove and or install additionalportions of the turbomachine. Repeated removal and installation of theroof is impractical leading to increased repair time. Covering with atarp also presents certain challenges. Often times, high winds willdislodge and completely remove the tarp or expose portions ofturbomachine to weather such as rain, snow and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the exemplary embodiment; a turbomachineenclosure canopy system includes a first rail member configured anddisposed to be mounted to a first wall of the turbomachine enclosure,and a second rail member configured and disposed to be mounted to asecond wall of the turbomachine enclosure. A first fixed canopy supportmember is mounted to the first rail member, and a second fixed canopysupport member is mounted to the second rail member. A first slidingcanopy support member is seated on the first rail member, and a secondsliding canopy support member is seated on the second rail member. Anadjustable canopy support element is moveably secured between the firstand second fixed canopy support members to form a fixed canopy support,and an adjustable canopy support member is moveably secured between thefirst and second sliding canopy support members to form a sliding canopysupport.

According to another aspect of the exemplary embodiment, a turbomachineenclosure includes a first side wall, a second side wall, a third sidewall joining the first and second side walls at a first end, and afourth side wall joining the first and second side walls at a second endto establish a turbomachine portion having an upper opening. Aturbomachine is arranged within the turbomachine portion, and aturbomachine enclosure canopy is positioned across the upper opening.The turbomachine enclosure canopy system includes a first rail membermounted to the first wall, and a second rail member mounted to thesecond wall. A first fixed canopy support member is mounted to the firstrail member, and a second fixed canopy support member is mounted to thesecond rail member. A first sliding canopy support member is seated onthe first rail member, and a second sliding canopy support member isseated on the second rail member. An adjustable canopy support elementis moveably secured between the first and second fixed canopy supportmembers to form a fixed canopy support, and an adjustable canopy supportmember is moveably secured between the first and second sliding canopysupport members to form a sliding canopy support.

These and other advantages and features will become more apparent fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages ofthe invention are apparent from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a turbomachine enclosureincluding a turbomachine enclosure canopy system in accordance with anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a partial elevational view of the turbomachine enclosure ofFIG. 1 illustrating the turbomachine enclosure canopy system shownwithout a canopy;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the turbomachine enclosure canopy systemof FIG. 2 illustrating a drive system utilized to extend theturbomachine enclosure canopy system across a turbomachine enclosure;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the turbomachine enclosurecanopy system of FIG. 3 illustrating a fixed canopy support member and asliding canopy support member;

FIG. 5 is a detail view of a roller assembly for the sliding canopymember of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of first and second adjustable canopy supportmembers shown secured to the sliding canopy support member of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 depicts an adjustment member of the first adjustable canopysupport member of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 depicts an adjustment element of the second adjustable canopysupport member of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 depicts an adjustable support bar provided to support a drivesystem of the turbomachine enclosure canopy system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 depicts a first driving member of the drive system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 11 depicts a second driving member of the drive system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 12 depicts a first driven member of the drive system of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 13 depicts a second driven member of the drive system of FIG. 3.

The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, togetherwith advantages and features, by way of example with reference to thedrawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1-3 a turbomachine enclosure is indicatedgenerally at 2. Turbomachine enclosure 2 includes first and secondopposing side walls 4 and 5 that are joined by third and fourth opposingside walls 6 and 7 to form a turbomachine portion 9 having an upperopening 11. First and second side opposing side walls 4 and 5 includecorresponding first and second support members 13 and 14 at upperopening 11. Upper opening 11 provides access to turbomachine portion 9to allow for installation and removal of a turbomachine such asindicated at 16. Turbomachine enclosure 2 is shown to include aportable, retractable turbomachine enclosure canopy system 20 thatsupports a canopy 24 across upper opening 11. Turbomachine enclosurecanopy system 20 is installed across upper opening 11 during maintenanceoperations that require installation and removal of turbomachinecomponents, or a complete turbomachine, through upper opening 11. Duringnormal operation, turbomachine enclosure 2 includes a fixed cover (notshown) that extends across upper opening 11.

Turbomachine enclosure canopy system 20 includes a first rail member 28secured to first support member 13 and a second rail member 29 securedto second support member 14. First and second rail members 28 and 29 aresecured to first and second support members 13 and 14 with temporaryclamps such as shown at 30 in FIG. 4. Turbomachine enclosure canopysystem 20 includes a fixed canopy support 32 having a first fixed canopysupport member 34 connected to a second fixed canopy support member 35through an adjustable canopy support element 37. Adjustable canopysupport element 37 provides adjustment to allow fixed canopy support 32to be fitted to turbomachine enclosures of various sizes. First fixedcanopy support member 34 includes a wall support 39 that is fixedlymounted to first rail member 28. Second fixed canopy support member 35includes a wall support 40 that is fixedly mounted to second rail member29. First and second fixed canopy support members 34 and 35 also includea plurality of canopy supports 42 and 43, and 44-46 respectively thatposition canopy 24 across upper opening 11.

Turbomachine enclosure canopy system 20 also includes a plurality ofsliding canopy supports 48-56 that are adjustably coupled to fixedcanopy support 32 by an extensible hinge member 57. As each slidingcanopy support 48-56 includes similar structure, a description willfollow referencing sliding canopy support 48 with an understanding thatthe remaining canopy supports 49-56 are similarly formed. It should beunderstood however, the sliding canopy support 56 is also provided witha plurality of canopy supports 60-63 that support canopy 24 across upperopening 11. Sliding canopy support 48 includes a first sliding canopysupport member 70 operatively coupled to a second canopy support member71 through first and second adjustable canopy support members 80 and 81.At this point reference will be made to FIGS. 4-6 in describing secondsliding canopy support member 71 with an understanding that firstsliding canopy support member 70 is similarly formed.

Second sliding canopy support member 71 includes a canopy support bar 86and a spreader bar 88. Canopy support bar 86 includes a first end 91that extends to a second end 92 through an intermediate portion 93.First end 91 is linked to a canopy support 94 having a tie down element95 that provides an anchor point for canopy 24. In a manner similar tothat described above, canopy support 94 positions canopy 24 across aportion of upper opening 11. Spreader bar 88 includes a first endsection 98 that extends to a second end section 99 through anintermediate section 100. First end section 98 is secured at first end91 of canopy support bar 86. A stiffener 103 extends between canopysupport bar 86 and spreader bar 88 connecting intermediate portion 93with intermediate section 100.

In further accordance with the exemplary embodiment, first and secondsliding canopy support members 70 and 71 include first and secondsliding wall supports 106 and 107 respectively. As each sliding wallsupport 106, 107 includes similar structure, a description will followwith reference to sliding wall support 107 with an understanding thatsliding wall support 106 is similarly formed. As best shown in FIG. 5,sliding wall support 107 includes a support member 120 having a firstend portion 123 (FIG. 4) and a second end portion 124. First end portion123 is coupled to second sliding canopy support member 71 at first end91 of canopy support bar 86 and first end section 98 of spreader bar 88.Sliding wall support 107 includes a roller assembly 130 arranged atsecond end portion 124. Roller assembly 130 includes a first roller 133that rests upon an upper surface (not separately labeled) of second railmember 29 and a second roller 135 that is positioned at a lower surface(also not separately labeled) of second rail member 29. Second roller135 is mounted to a support plate 137 that is coupled at second endportion 124 of support member 120. With this arrangement, rollerassembly 130 facilitates transitioning sliding canopy support 48 alongsecond rail member 29.

As best shown in FIG. 6, canopy support bar 86 is adjustably connectedto first adjustable canopy support member 80 through an adjustmentmember 147 and spreader bar 88 is adjustably coupled to secondadjustable canopy support member 81 through an adjustment element 150.First adjustable canopy support member 80 is also shown to include acoupler 151 and second adjustable canopy support member 81 includes acoupler 152 that serves to connect first sliding canopy support member70 to second sliding canopy support member 71. As best shown in FIG. 7,second end 92 of canopy support bar 86 includes an interior portion 154that slidingly receives an end portion (not separately labeled) of firstadjustable canopy support member 80. With this arrangement, adjustmentmember 147 takes the form of a clamp member 159. Clamp member 159includes a U-shaped bolt 161 having first and second bolt ends 162 and163. A plate 165 is mounted across first and second bolt ends 162 and163 and tightened onto second end 92 with a pair of fasteners 167 and168 to prevent relative movement once first adjustable canopy supportmember 80 is in a desired position. As shown in FIG. 8, adjustmentelement 150 includes a collar 173 provided on second end section 99 ofspreader bar 88. Collar 173 includes a flange 175 that slidinglyreceives an end portion (not separately labeled) of second adjustablecanopy support member 81. A compression member 180 is selectively biasedagainst the end portion of second adjustable canopy support member 81 toprovide any desired adjustment.

In still further accordance with the exemplary embodiment, turbomachineenclosure canopy system 20 includes a drive system 190 (FIG. 4) thatshifts the sliding canopy supports 60-63 along first and second railmembers 28 and 29. Drive system 190 is mounted to an adjustable supportbar 194 that extends between first and second rail members 28 and 29. Asshown in FIG. 9, adjustable support bar 194 includes first and secondadjustment sections 197 and 198 that are selectively extensibledepending upon a width of turbomachine enclosure 2. More specifically,adjustment support bar 194 includes first and second adjustment sections197 and 198 that are configured to slide one relative to the other.Adjustment section 198 includes a pair of slots 203 and 204 that areconfigured to receive fasteners 206 and 207 respectively. Fasteners 206and 207 are tightened to prevent further relative movement of first andsecond adjustment sections 197 and 198 when adjustable support bar 194is in place. The particular type of fasteners 206 and 207 can vary.

Drive system 190 includes a gear system 211 having a crank handle 212.Gear system 211 is operatively connected to a first driving member 213(FIG. 10) and a second driving member 214 (FIG. 11). First drivingmember 213 includes a first end 218 (FIG. 4) that extends to a secondend 219 that is supported at a first end (not separately labeled) offirst rail member 28. First end 218 is connected to gear system 211 andsecond end 219 includes a pulley 221 that is rotated by first drivingmember 213. Similarly, second driving member 214 has a first end 227(FIG. 4) that extends to a second end 228 supported at a first end (notseparately labeled) of second rail member 29. First end 227 of seconddriving member 214 is coupled to gear system 211 and second end 228 ofsecond driving member 214 is provided with a pulley 229.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, drive system 190 also includes a firstidler bar 237 mounted to a second, opposing end (not separately labeled)of first rail member 28. Idler bar 237 includes a pulley 238. Similarly,a second idler bar 239 is mounted at a second, opposing end (also notseparately labeled) of second rail member 29. Second idler bar 239includes a pulley 240. A first cable 242 extends about pulleys 221 and238 and a second cable 246 extends about pulleys 229 and 240. A firstdriven member 248 is connected between cable 242 and a sliding canopysupport 56 and a second driven member 250 is connected between cable 246and sliding canopy support 56. With this arrangement, rotation of crankhandle 212 operates gear system 211 causing cables 242 and 246 to shiftthe plurality of sliding canopy supports 48-56 along first and secondrail members 28 and 29 to a desired position such that canopy 24 coversupper opening 11.

At this point it should be understood that turbomachine enclosure canopysystem in accordance with an exemplary embodiment provides a simple,cost effective and easily transportable cover that can be readilydeployed across an upper opening of a turbomachine enclosure duringmaintenance periods. In this manner, service personnel can easily extendthe turbomachine enclosure canopy system to cover the upper openingwhile working and retract the canopy when it is necessary to installand/or remove components through the upper opening.

While the invention has been described in detail in connection with onlya limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood thatthe invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, theinvention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations,alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretoforedescribed, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of theinvention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention havebeen described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention mayinclude only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, theinvention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, butis only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

1. A turbomachine enclosure canopy system comprising: a first railmember configured and disposed to be mounted to a first wall of aturbomachine enclosure, and a second rail member configured and disposedto be mounted to a second wall of the turbomachine enclosure; a firstfixed canopy support member mounted to the first rail member, and asecond fixed canopy support member mounted to the second rail member; afirst sliding canopy support member seated on the first rail member, anda second sliding canopy support member seated on the second rail member;and an adjustable canopy support element moveably secured between thefirst and second fixed canopy support members to form a fixed canopysupport, and an adjustable canopy support member moveably securedbetween the first and second sliding canopy support members to form asliding canopy support.
 2. The turbomachine enclosure canopy systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a canopy extending between thefixed canopy support and the sliding canopy support.
 3. The turbomachineenclosure canopy system according to claim 1, further comprising: adrive system coupled to the sliding canopy support, the drive systembeing configured and disposed to selectively shift the sliding canopysupport relative to the fixed canopy support.
 4. The turbomachineenclosure canopy system according to claim 3, wherein the drive systemincludes a driving member extending to one of the first and second railmembers, and a driven member attached to one of the first and secondsliding canopy support members.
 5. The turbomachine enclosure canopysystem according to claim 4, wherein the driven member includes a firstdriven member attached to the first sliding canopy support member and asecond driven member attached to the second sliding canopy supportmember.
 6. The turbomachine enclosure canopy system according to claim1, further comprising: a sliding wall support operatively coupled to oneof the first sliding canopy support member and the second sliding canopysupport member.
 7. The turbomachine enclosure canopy system according toclaim 6, further comprising: a roller assembly operatively connected tothe sliding wall support, the roller assembly including at least oneroller
 8. The turbomachine enclosure canopy system according to claim 7,wherein the at least one roller includes a first roller and a secondroller.
 9. The turbomachine enclosure canopy system according to claim8, wherein the first roller is configured and disposed to ride along afirst surface of one of the first and second rail members and the secondroller is configured and disposed to ride along a second, opposingsurface of the one of the first and second rail members.
 10. Theturbomachine enclosure canopy system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a hinge member extending between the fixed canopy supportmember and the sliding canopy support.
 11. A turbomachine enclosurecomprising: a first side wall, a second side wall, a third side walljoining the first and second side walls at a first end and a fourth sidewall joining the first and second side walls at a second end toestablish a turbomachine portion having an opening; a turbomachinearranged within the turbomachine portion; and a turbomachine enclosurecanopy system positioned across the opening, the turbomachine enclosurecanopy system including: a first rail member mounted to the first wall,and a second rail member mounted to the second wall; a first fixedcanopy support member mounted to the first rail member, and a secondfixed canopy support member mounted to the second rail member; a firstsliding canopy support member seated on the first rail member, and asecond sliding canopy support member seated on the second rail member;and an adjustable canopy support element moveably secured between thefirst and second fixed canopy support members to form a fixed canopysupport, and an adjustable canopy support member moveably securedbetween the first and second sliding canopy support members to form asliding canopy support.
 12. The turbomachine enclosure according toclaim 11, further comprising: a canopy extending between the fixedcanopy support and the sliding canopy support.
 13. The turbomachineenclosure according to claim 11, further comprising: a drive systemcoupled to the turbomachine enclosure canopy system, the drive systembeing configured and disposed to selectively shift the sliding canopysupport relative to the fixed canopy support.
 14. The turbomachineenclosure according to claim 13, wherein the drive system includes adriving member extending between the first and second rail members, anda driven member attached to one of the first and second sliding canopysupport members.
 15. The turbomachine enclosure according to claim 14,wherein the driven member includes a first driven member attached to thefirst sliding canopy support member and a second driven member attachedto the second sliding canopy support member.
 16. The turbomachineenclosure according to claim 11, further comprising: a sliding wallsupport operatively coupled to one of the first sliding canopy supportmember and the second sliding canopy support member.
 17. Theturbomachine enclosure according to claim 16, further comprising: aroller assembly operatively connected to sliding wall support, theroller assembly including at least one roller
 18. The turbomachineenclosure according to claim 17, wherein the at least one rollerincludes a first roller and a second roller.
 19. The turbomachineenclosure according to claim 18, wherein the first roller is configuredand disposed to ride along a first surface of one of the first andsecond rail members and the second roller is configured and disposed toride along a second, opposing surface of the one of the first and secondrail members.
 20. The turbomachine enclosure according to claim 11,further comprising: a hinge member extending between the fixed canopysupport member and the first sliding canopy support member.